Caged Heart

Chapter 5

"I cannot breathe in this dress," Genevieve groaned as they all stood in the courtyard, servants, and the nobles and their families surrounding them.

"You look beautiful," Serenity whispered, "if it's any consolation."

"Hardly," the young princess rolled her eyes.

Their mother shushed the two princesses by clearing her throat and giving them a look, one they knew all too well: behave.

The dresses the three women wore complimented their kingdom and each other, all purple in color yet different variations of it. Their mother wore a deep purple, her long white cloak and chestnut skin bringing the dark color forward, and her dark brown hair was curled and pinned up into a bun at the top of her head; her crown, and all of the other crowns and tiaras, glittered in the late afternoon sun. Genevieve was wearing a beautiful light purple, off the shoulder dress, which complimented her honey-chestnut skin, and her hair was straightened save for the part that was braided to resemble a crown adorning her head. Serenity was wearing a flowing violet dress, an off-white scarf hanging from her arms, her hair french-braided back.

King Darius and Prince Caleb also wore purple attire—their skin colors (honey for Darius and a darker honey-chestnut mix than that of Genevieve for Caleb) set off by the vibrant color—Darius' being lined with gold and Caleb's with white. They wore a small version of the kingdom's crest on the left side of their chests; where their hearts were; and their white capes flowed behind them in the wind. Prince Godric was the only odd one out, dressed in his kingdom colors of emerald-green and white, wearing a cape like that of her father and brother but gold in color; his crest also sat atop the place where his heart would be. They were all dressed to perfection.

But that was to be expected as the reason they were all dressed up came down the stone-bricked pathway.

King Emerson's carriage was as black as the night; the only thing that sparkled was the silver that lined the rims of the wheels and the edges of the carriage. Even the horses and their reins were black. Following the carriage were, by Serenity's count, at least six horses and guards, and they stopped in formation as the carriage stopped ahead of them. The guard who had controlled the horses driving the carriage leapt down from his seat, bowing to the king and queen of Dahlia before opening the door, allowing a man to step out onto the grounds.

His tan skin was accentuated by his attire, which was black in color with hints of blue and white sewn in. Serenity figured that black had to have been part of his kingdom colors, and her suspicions were confirmed when she laid eyes on his crest, which was on his right side instead of his left. The crest was white trimmed with a blue eye in the center of it, accents of what looked to be blue fire around it, and the background was, of course, black. Perfect color for a Hallow, the princess thought to herself as Emerson walked towards them. As he did so, Genevieve tensed.

"Your majesties," he bowed in front of her parents.

Serenity blinked at him, watching as he stood straight once more. Her eyes ran over his frame, starting from the tip of his obsidian crown that was accented with sapphires, to his perfect black hair that shone in the sun, to his hazel eyes, to his slight smile, to his royal suit, and finally to his finely polished shoes. Everything about this man screamed 'perfect' in Serenity's ears, even his voice which was that of a soft yet deep melodic tone.

"King Emerson," Darius said with a smile, "we welcome you to our kingdom as we know you would welcome us to yours."

"Of course. I am glad that we have been able to end the war that caused such pointless bloodshed."